The Lakers have appeared in nearly half of all playoff finals since the start of the NBA- 30 of 62, winning over half the times they appeared- 16 of 30. In 1950, the Minneapolis Lakers won the first ever NBA title. They also won the title the previous year, but the season was played under the Basketball Association of America (BAA).
Also, with a total of 16 titles, only the Boston Celtics have won more championships with 17, last winning in 2008. The Chicago Bulls are third with only 6 titles, last winning in 1998. Many would credit, at least their most recent success, to coach, Phil Jackson. After winning the 2002 finals, Phil Jackson surpassed Pat Riley for most championship wins by a coach with a total of nine rings. Jackson has since added two more with back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010.
Who’s the NBA leading scorer of all time? Of course it’s a Laker. During his twenty-year career, spending all but six with Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored a total of 38,387 points. To quote a more recent record, in 2006, while playing against the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant scored a total of 81 points, setting the record for most points scored by one player in Laker history and second most in NBA history. But guess who he’s behind? Another former Laker, Wilt Chamberlain, who had a 100 point game against the Knicks in 1962 (Chamberlain played for the Philadelphia Warriors at the time).
Whether the Lakers defeat the Spurs to advance to round two of the playoffs this year or not, Laker fans know they have something to be proud of, knowing their team is arguably the best in the history of the NBA. Last night I spoke to a friend who lives just outside of San Antonio. She told me that whenever the Spurs win, all the Valero gas stations in the city give away free coffee, hot chocolate, or cappuccino. I told her she should move from the area because she is going to be getting quite thirsty come Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment